i'm stone cold sober (in vino veritas)
by AtLoLevad
Summary: After Oliver finds out some life changing news about his family, he shows up drunk at Felicity's door. The news sends Felicity food a loop too.


**A/N: I started this like two days after we found out that Thea is Malcolm's daughter. I wanted to write something that had Oliver dealing (but totally not dealing) with the bombshell. **

**This came out exactly how I wanted it to…so I'm really happy with it =)**

**I'd also love it if you guys would go check out my last Olicity fic (this is my kingdom come ("I forget the second part of this title)) I'd also love it if you guys would review that and let me know what you think =)**

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Felicity stumbled out of bed and fumbled for her glasses before hurrying to her front door. The incessant knocking was going to give her a lot of problems with her neighbors in the morning.

"I really hope I'm not opening the door to a serial killer right now," Felicity muttered under her breath before pulling the door open.

"Oliver?" she stepped back, shocked to see her boss and friend standing in her hallway.

"F'licity!" Oliver shouted, and leaned heavily against the doorjamb.

"Oh no. Oliver, why are you doing this to me? Why are you drunk?" Felicity mumbled, stepping into the hallway to try and nudge the man into her apartment.

"Miss. Smoak!" an elderly voice called out and Felicity groaned.

She turned with a fake smile plastered to her face, "Mrs. Hathaway! I'm…um…very sorry. This is…well…it's not how…um….it's not –"

The old woman banged her cane on the floor, "Stop mumbling! You know I can't hear very well. And some of us are trying to sleep. Get your alcoholic boyfriend out of the hallway! If my husband were still alive, bless his heart, he would never have allowed that man to get this far."

Felicity frowned. Old bat. She really wanted to ask the woman how she had heard Oliver's knocking if she couldn't hear well, but it just wasn't worth getting into a fight over. She also wanted to point out that Oliver was neither her boyfriend nor an alcoholic.

So Felicity plastered on another fake smile and nodded, "Of course, Mrs. Hathaway. Have a good night."

"Pah! Good night? I'll be awake for hours and I'll probably be late for bingo in the morning," she grunted, slamming her door hard enough to rattle the decorative paintings on the wall.

"She's not so nice, is she?" Oliver mumbled, staggering into Felicity's apartment and dropping to the couch.

"No, she's kind of crazy. I think she was an evil dictator in a past life," Felicity stood in front of Oliver with her hands on her hips.

Oliver looked back at her, a smirk playing no his face. When Felicity didn't say anything, Oliver took a drink from the beer bottle he was holding.

"Oh my god!" Felicity gasped, before snatching the beer bottle away. She frowned even deeper at Oliver, "Are you kidding me?"

Oliver's head lolled a little to the side and he shrugged.

Felicity blew out an exasperated sigh, and muttered, "I'm quitting and going to work at Wayne Enterprises," mostly to herself.

To Oliver, she said, "You have a lot of nerve coming here drunk, Oliver. I'm going to have to listen to Mrs. Hathaway for months now. Where are you going?"

Oliver had gotten off of the couch while Felicity had been talking, and was making his way into her tiny kitchen.

"Y'took my beer. I'm findin' more," he slurred, pulling an open bottle of wine towards himself and pouring a very generous amount into a glass that was drying on the rack.

"Oliver!" Felicity admonished, "I'm sure you've already had too much to drink. Put that down!"

She lunged across the counter to try and grab the bottle. But, even drunk, Oliver had decently fast reflexes and turned away from Felicity, bottle of wine still firmly in his grip.

Felicity leaned against her counter, "Oliver, you seriously need to stop drinking. How are you going to be able to work tomorrow?"

Oliver didn't answer, instead he took several gulps of wine.

Suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to her, Felicity asked, "Why are you drunk? I've never seen you like this."

"You didn't know me b'fore the island. I was drunk all the time," Oliver gave a grim laugh.

"But…you're not like that anymore," Felicity said sadly.

"I d'no. Might be easier than m'life now," Oliver grunted, knocking back more wine.

"Oliver! You have so many good things in your life now. You have your mom, Dig, your sister," Felicity wasn't sure if she left her own name out of that list by accident, or out of fear that Oliver would say she wasn't important.

Oliver barked out a laugh, "I don't have a sister!"

Felicity's face twisted up into confusion, "What? Oliver, of course you have a sister. Thea? Remember her? About this tall, brown hair, dating Roy, a little too comfortable at the club even though she's underage."

Oliver shook his head, "Nope. She's not my sister."

Something in Oliver's tone told Felicity that this was going to be an interesting conversation. She let out a resigned sigh and sat on a barstool.

"Oliver, you aren't making any sense. Please, help me help you," she crossed her arms lightly and leaned in towards Oliver.

"I don't have a sister. I'm an only child," Oliver shrugged, as if this was a fact.

Felicity blew out an angry breath, "Oliver, it's two in the morning. Stop talking in riddles. You have a sister. She loves you very much. Now what is wrong?"

"S'like I said. Thea's not really my sister. My dad's not her dad," Oliver discarded his empty wine glass and rummaged in Felicity's cabinets for more alcohol.

Felicity shook her head. Robert Queen _wasn't _Thea's dad? Just how drunk was Oliver?

Felicity looked up at her boss. He was trying to rip open a bottle of tequila that Felicity's sister-in-law had given her, conveniently forgetting that Felicity didn't drink tequila. Oliver was scowling deeply, his forehead covered in creases.

"Oliver?" Felicity said gently, and then paused. How was she going to phrase this question? She didn't exactly want to agree with Oliver, especially since she wasn't convinced he was right. But, at the same time, she also didn't want to let him know she didn't believe him.

Oliver finally got the top off of the tequila and was taking swigs straight from the bottle.

"Oliver, who do you think Thea's dad is?" Felicity asked, reaching out and taking the tequila bottle when Oliver's entire body sagged.

"Malcolm Merlyn."

Felicity almost fell off of her stool in shock, "What!? You think Malcolm Merlyn is Thea's dad? Why? How? When?"

Oliver seemed to sober up right in front of Felicity's eyes, "I don't think. I know. My…mother told me."

"But...Moira is Thea's mother too, right?" Felicity stood up and grabbed a glass, pouring herself a shot of tequila. If she was going to start drinking hard liquor, now definitely seemed like the right time.

Oliver nodded, bobbing his head up and down one too many times for him to maintain his sober façade, "After dinner. She just sprung it on me. Like I wouldn't be completely blindsided."

"I don't know what to say…" Felicity trailed off, moving on shaky legs to sit on her couch.

Oliver sat down heavily beside her, "I don't know either. Thea…she's the one thing…when I was on the island. She was a Daddy's Girl…this will kill her."

Felicity's eyes widened, "She doesn't know?"

Oliver shook his head.

"So wait…let me get this straight. Your mom told you this huge, gigantic, life-changing secret about Thea, and then didn't tell the one person it affects more than anything?"

"Basically," Oliver frowned, "I think she wants _me _to talk to Thea."

"You!?" Felicity exclaimed. Oh God, this was getting to be way too much to deal with at 2:30 in the morning. Drunk Oliver she could deal with. Drunk Oliver with a mind blowing, life-changing secret about Thea? Not so much.

All Felicity wanted to do at this point was crawl back into bed and forget this whole thing had happened.

"What d'I do, F'licity?" Oliver sighed, tossing his head back to rest on the back of the couch.

The blonde shook her head, "I don't know, Oliver. I just don't know."

"My sister is the daughter of the Dark Archer…" Oliver said slowly, mostly to himself as if he were trying out the words.

Felicity watched him as he repeated the sentence, forming the words carefully. He was drunk, that was obvious. But as she looked at his face, Felicity could see the confusion in the way his forehead scrunched up. She could see the anger at Moira.

But when Felicity looked into his blue eyes, what she saw threw her off. She saw fear. Oliver was scared. She knew he probably would never tell her that he was scared, but it was written on his face (if you looked close enough.)

Oliver very rarely, if ever, showed fear. But this? Thea's connection to the Dark Archer? That terrified him, and in turn, it terrified Felicity.

"Oliver?" she reached out to touch his forearm. When he jumped, she pulled her hand back.

What Oliver did next surprised her. He reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly within his own.

"What if she follows him?"

"She won't, Oliver," Felicity shook her head vehemently, "She won't. She loves you so much. She'll never turn on you. You're her brother."

Oliver looked through Felicity, "She had another brother. Tommy. Tommy, would've been her brother too. But he's gone. And it's partially my fault."

"Oh God, Oliver. Oliver, you can't. Don't think like that, please," she begged, gripping Oliver's hand tighter.

"You're right. I can't think like that again. I've forgiven myself for Tommy," Oliver nodded; his decision was final.

Felicity yawned, forget physical exhaustion, tonight was heading straight for emotional territory.

"We'll figure it out, Oliver. I promise," Felicity murmured, leaning her head against the back of the couch and closing her eyes.

Two minutes later, her breathing evened out and she was passed out.

Oliver watched her for a second, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Felicity," he said, yawning.

He'd have a hell of a hangover in the morning, he 'd have to run QC, and Thea would still be Malcolm Merlyn's daughter.

But with Felicity's hand in his, and her head resting gently on his shoulder?

Oliver didn't feel quite as hopeless as he had earlier.


End file.
